Mass Effect: The Second Shepard
by Darthvader1002
Summary: The Sequel to Mass Effect 3: A Decade Later. Shepard and Tali are having a baby, but when tragedy strikes, will Shepard be able to keep himself together? Rated T for language. Hope you have as much fun reading as I did writing!
1. Chapter 1

Shepard lay on the couch staring at the ceiling, it had been two weeks since Tali had announced that she was pregnant, Tali was at the hospital having a check-up, Shepard and Tali's baby would be the first hybrid species. The Asari way of mating had been decided that it wasn't the general form of mating used by most species so any offspring of an Asari plus whatever was classed as a just an Asari. Shepard grew bored and decided to find the most uncomfortable way of sitting on a couch. As he turned around and maneuvered himself into a kind of upside down sitting position, the door opened.  
"What… are you doing?" asked Tali with a confused look on her face.

"I got bored" Shepard said as he hastily swung himself into a proper sitting position.

"Anyway… the doctor says I'm all good, nothing wrong" said Tali as she seated herself next to Shepard, she looked at him; his hair was still scruffy from him being upside down.

"I've seen you do some pretty weird things over the years but that has got to be the weirdest thing ever"

"I got bored, I can't go and blow something up like I used to" said Shepard smiling.

"Well you could go and blow something up, it just wouldn't be as… tolerated" Tali said as she lay her legs over Shepards lap and lay back.

"Now be quiet, the walk to the hospital makes you more tired than you think" she continued.

"We do have a sky-car remember" said Shepard as he activated his Omni-tool

"Ooh… about that" Tali said, sitting up.

"What…?" said Shepard a slightly worried look on his face.

"I pulled apart the engine and I haven't put it back together yet" said Tali looking slightly guilty. Shepard sighed.

"You Quarians just can't help tinkering with things can you" Shepard said with a smirk

"I thought I could increase the engines output" she said. Shepard chuckled as Tali stood up.

"I'll go put it back together now, I don't have anything better to do" she said.

Shepard knew little about Human pregnancies let alone Quarian pregnancies; he pulled up some info and started reading. With the procedure he and Tali undertook they were technically half Human and Quarian, although it wasn't physically apparent Tali and Shepards cellular makeup had been completely altered, Shepard could eat Dextro food and Tali could eat Levo food, Tali's blood had changed colour and her immune system was even better despite already being enhanced thanks to the Geth jumpstarting her immune system by uploading into her suit and rewriting environmental functions. The procedure had made their lives so much better than they could've ever imagined. Shepard had thought that with Tali technically being half human that the pregnancy would have Human traits as well as Quarian. Shepard decided that instead of searching the Extra-net he would ask Tali, the Extra-net was very unreliable, in his brief five minutes of reading information, he had already seen the word 'Explosion' three times.

Tali was searching amongst a pile of engine parts in the garage when Shepard walks in and leans against the wall.

"Tali, what are Quarian pregnancies usually like" Shepard asked

"Oh… well… how do mean?" Tali said

"You know… how long they last, what to expect during that time, that kind of thing" Shepard explained.

"Oh… well they usually last for thirteen months, and I will have weeks where I will do nothing but sleep and in some cases the mother is known to have a day or two where she will just eat" Tali said "Your turn, tell me what human pregnancies are usually like"

"Oh… I only really know what I learned in school, which wasn't a lot. But I'll give it a shot. It usually lasts for nine months; the mother gets morning sickness where some mornings she just throws up… Err… mood swings are quite common I think. It's been a while since I've had to actually use this kind of information" Shepard said awkwardly. Tali smiled.

"That isn't as nice compared to Quarian pregnancies, apart from the nine months part" Tali said.

"Well you might end up with some of that" Shepard said. Tali looked confused.

"You are technically part human" Shepard said as he walked out the door.

A few weeks later.  
Shepard was going through his mail, mostly junk and fan-mail, he came across a message from James and Ashley. They were getting married in a week.

"Hey Tali, James and Ashley are getting married!" Shepard said to Tali who was browsing the cupboards for lunch.

"Oh, we are invited I assume?" said Tali

"Of course, and so is everyone from the Normandy SR-1 and 2 plus James' and Ashley's families and friends" replied Shepard

"When and where is it?" asked Tali

"Next week, Earth" said Shepard

"I think it will be an excellent opportunity to announce the soon to be newest addition" Tali said patting her stomach.

"Good idea, can't believe we haven't told anyone yet, not even Garrus" Shepard said.

"I know, but we promised not to tell anyone until we knew everything was ok" Tali said.

"I know" Shepard replied.

The next day Tali seemed a little troubled.

"What's up?" Shepard asked.

"I… looked up some vids of Human births" Tali said.

"Oooh" Shepard said.

"I am glad to say that Quarian births do not include that much screaming and yelling" Tali said as she sipped her cup of coffee.

"Oh… good" Shepard said with an awkward look on his face.  
Shepard went upstairs to get ready for the wedding; he had been picked a James' best man. Tali knew a fair amount of traditional Human weddings from when she and Shepard had been planning a wedding so she didn't have to put any extra effort than was needed into preparing.

Tali and Shepard walked off the transport and went through the terminal, when they stepped outside Shepard looked around, no one would've ever known that a war had passed through only ten years before. Earth, Shepard had only been back twice after the end of the Reaper war. He and Tali hailed a cab and went to their Hotel. Tali dumped her suitcases by the bed and began raiding the mini-fridge.  
"This is nice" Shepard said as he wandered through the room. The door opened and James came walking in.

"Loco! Glad you could make it" James said as he shook Shepard's hand, doing the special handshake only he and Shepard shared.

"James! How you doing" said Shepard

"Better than ever" he replied "Sup Sparks"

"Hey James" said Tali

"I got some bad news guys" James said "Some of the others couldn't make it"

"Why? Who else is left?" Tali asked

"Garrus, Grunt, Joker, EDI and Cortez are all that's left" James said "Families and Friends are still coming it's just some of the old crew couldn't make it"

"Sorry to hear that" Shepard said sadly

"Shepard and I have something big to tell you" Tali said "we were hoping to tell it to everyone at once"

"Oh well, tell whoever's coming then tell rest" said James

"Where's Ashley?" Tali asked

"Oh she's in the lobby, her friends just got here"

"Then we probably won't be seeing her for a while, knowing Ashley and her friends they'll be talking up a storm!" said Shepard jokingly, Tali and James chuckled.

"Well, Shepard promised to show me around the city" said Tali "What is the city called again? Mew York?"

"Ha ha, New York" Shepard said, smiling.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, big day!" James said as he backed out the door

"Where do you want to go first?" Said Shepard as he looked out the window

"Well I have no idea what's here do I?" Said Tali as she joined Shepard

"There's a hell of a lot to see"

"What's that big statue over there?" Said Tali, pointing to a large green statue.

"That's the Statue of Liberty"

"Well, I know where we are going"

Shepard fumbled with his tie, he hated them, he had to where them at every special occasion that wasn't Military related. He glanced at his watch. He was going to be late if he didn't get the damn thing on. Tali walked out of the bathroom, she was wearing a towel.

"I thought you were getting dressed?" Shepard said as he pulled of his tie and started over.

"No, I had a shower, my hair smelled off" She replied

"You could've just washed your hair by itself; you didn't have to get in the shower. We're going to be late" Shepard grumbled. Tali quickly dressed herself and went over to help Shepard with his tie.

"Since when have you known how to tie ties?" Shepard asked

"I don't" Tali replied

"Great"

"There… um, at least it looks like a tie and not like a… I don't know… something that doesn't look like a tie" Tali replied as she threw on her shoes. Shepard opened the door and waited for Tali to rush out, she stumbled but balanced herself on the opposite wall.

"Keelah, the bosh'tet that designed these shoes had not considered Quarians using them" She said as she did her best to run whilst maintaining her balance.

"They are high heels, they're not supposed to be for running" Shepard said as he caught up to her. They were sprinting towards the elevator; the wedding was in the hotels garden.  
As they reached the elevator Shepard mashed the button to call the elevator.

"C'mon you slow piece of shit" Shepard said, angrily. When the doors opened Shepard and Tali barged inside almost knocking over an Asari. Shepard pressed the button for the ground floor, he and Tali were breathing heavily. The moment they reached the ground floor they sprinted out the elevator and ran to the garden. Most of the guests were already seated; Shepard and Tali took their positions and waited for the wedding to begin. Tali saw Garrus and his wife Jilana and their daughter Sari, Tali sat down next to Sari.

"Hey guys" She said

"Good to see you again Tali" Said Garrus

"Auntie Tali!" cried Sari as she hugged Tali

"I was wondering where you were!" said Jilana

"Where's Shepard?" asked Garrus

"He's James' best man" Tali replied as she gestured toward the front

"Oh, right" Garrus said as he leaned back in his chair "Hey Tali, do you have any idea what to do? We don't have any experience in Human weddings"

"Oh well, the groom stands up front and waits for the bride… err… the bride comes down the aisle and stands next to him, the guy in the robes… I can't remember what he's called… he says some stuff then the bride and groom kiss… then uuh… everyone goes somewhere else and there's food and stuff there… some stuff happens and… uuh… I can't remember, Shepard told me about that stuff years ago, you can't expect me to remember everything. I know he doesn't remember much about Quarian weddings from when I told him" Tali explained

"Well this will be interesting" said Jilana

"Glad you could make it loco" said James as Shepard ran up beside him

"Shuddup… I had… a damn tie to… tie" Shepard said between breaths of air

"I hate ties too man" Said James, he was twiddling his thumbs

"You alright?" Shepard asked

"Yea… no… I'm nervous as shit man"

"You'll be fine" Shepard said as he clapped a hand on James' shoulder

"It's not me I'm worried about" James replied

"I'm sure Ashley is fine as well" Shepard reassured him

"She better be" James said. This was the first time Shepard had seen James act like this, it was strange. Shepard noticed everyone had stood up and that there was music playing, he looked toward the back of the crowd and saw Ashley in a beautiful, long white dress walk down the aisle towards them, he tapped James on the stomach and he quickly turned around, Ashley smiled at James and he smiled back. The wedding went off without a hitch, and everyone piled into some shuttle's that had been hired out to take them to a restaurant. Shepard and Tali ended up in a shuttle with Garrus, Jilana and Sari.

"Hi Uncle Shep!" said Sari as she jumped up into Shepards arms.

"Hey, how you doing" Shepard said as he hugged Sari

"Good to see you again Shepard" said Jilana

"Shepard…" said Garrus as he leaned forward

"Hey there Garrus… what's new on your end" he replied

"Meh… not much… bought that new sniper rifle"

"The X-20?" Shepard said raising an eyebrow

"The X-20" said Garrus with a sly tone of voice

"Tested it out yet?"

"Oh… uuh… funny story"

"He had it seized by C-Sec" Jilana cut in

"How'd he manage that?" said Shepard

"I broke the neighbours TV" said Garrus

"wow" said Shepard, with a slight laugh

"It didn't say how many walls it could puncture through or that it had a hair trigger"

"How many walls did it go through?" Tali asked

"C-Sec counted twenty-four" Garrus said, guiltily

"Good job buddy" said Shepard, clasping a hand on Garrus' shoulder "Good job"

The restaurant was huge, most of the tables had been pushed together to form one massive table with food piled onto it. James and Ashley came up to Tali and Shepard.  
"Hey guys" Said Ashley "Glad you could make, oh Dextro food is at the far end Tali and Garrus, oh wait, only Garrus and his family need to worry about that because of that thing Shepard and Tali went through, they can eat both types"

"Uuh, yeah" said James "Like, everyone knows that"

"I know, I was trying to make it awkward"

"Ok umm" Shepard said "Anyway, congratulations you two"

"Yea, congratulations" said Tali

"Thanks guys" said Ashley "So, do you think you two are going to be the next ones to be wed?"

"If Auntie Raan and Shepard's mother can agree on things, yea probably" said Tali

"Cool, hey, glad you be here guys" said James

"No problem" Said Shepard

"Well, I'm going to go mingle" said Tali

"Us to" said Ashley as she pulled James off into the crowd

Shepard wandered through the restaurant talking to a few people he knew and being introduced to James' and Ashley's parents, apparently Ashley had told her parents about what happened between her and Shepard, Ashley's parents attempted to make him jealous that Ashley was now married and he wasn't, he explained that he would be married if his mother and Tali's Aunt would get along. Ashley's parents didn't believe that Shepard was with anyone, after he pointed out Tali they were confused.

"Why a Quarian?" Ashley's Dad asked. Shepard sighed and walked away, he caught a glimpse of Joker and EDI and walked over to them.

"Shepard!" said Joker as he gave Shepard a hug

"Hey Joker, how've you been?"

"Pretty good" Joker replied

"Good to see you again EDI" said Shepard

"Hello Shepard, it's good to see you too" She replied. Joker was wearing a suit much like Shepards and EDI was as she used to be aboard the Normandy.

"How are things on the Normandy?" Shepard asked.

"Not like when you were in charge, I mean James is great and all but he lacks that bit of crazy you have. You had that tendency to blow up buildings, James has the tendency to leave things as they are" Joker replied "How's life on Rannoch been treating you?"

"Good, boring… but good" Shepard said with a smile

"Yea… civilian life has that lack of explosions and shooting, doesn't it" said Joker

"You could say that, I still have my armoury though" said Shepard "How's things been for you EDI?"

"As Jeff said, life on the Normandy is less active, compared to when you were captain" said EDI

"And how are you liking the party?"

"The 'Smile and Nod' program I have installed is proving very useful; I can continue through conversations I have no intent on being a part of. It is… nice" said EDI

"Well, let's see how much trouble we can get into without me breaking an arm or leg… or face" said Joker as he and EDI walked away

"Good to see you again Shepard" said EDI 

Tali found Shepard by the desserts part of the table, eating some ice-cream.

"Hey Shepard?" she said

"Yea" replied Shepard, a spoonful of ice-cream in his mouth

"When are we going to tell everybody about the uuh… you know" she said quietly

"People will start making speeches soon, we'll do it then"

"Ok, oh I ran into Traynor, Chakwas and Adams, they send their regards"

"Oh, how are they doing?"

"They are all still serving on the Normandy and they are doing well" said Tali dipping her finger into Shepard's ice-cream and tasting it. "Mmm… that's good" she said.

"Oh look, I think that's James' father" Shepard said as he pointed to a man standing on a chair.

Tali and Shepard sat through various speeches, some of which were never completed due to drunken falling over and passing out.

"That everyone?" Ashley yelled. Shepard quickly swallowed a mouthful of ice-cream.

"Wait! Tali and I have an announcement to make" He yelled. Everyone turned to look at them.

"I'm sure all… well most of you will know of the experiment Tali and I underwent in order to make our DNA compatible" Shepard said, some people nodded.

"Well… all I can say is that it worked… and well" Shepard nodded to Tali

"I… I'm pregnant" Said Tali

Some people applauded, others looked in shock most of Shepard and Tali's friends cheered. Garrus came up to Shepard and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good luck" He said

"With what" Shepard asked

"The first three years are hell" Garrus whispered, Sari looked up at her father, Garrus looked down at her.

"What?" He said

"Nothing" Sari replied. She skipped over to Tali and poked her stomach.

"There's a baby in there?" She asked her mother. Tali leaned over and picked up Sari.

"Yep" Tali said as she handed Sari over to Jilana.

"How'd a baby get in Aunty Tali?" Sari asked. Shepard laughed at the look of dread on Garrus' face.

"Mom and Dad will tell you when you're older" Shepard said to Sari.

"Thank you" Garrus whispered to Shepard.

The day went on with most people congratulating not only James and Ashley on the wedding but on Tali's successful pregnancy. The day ended with many people being too drunk to continue, Tali excluded, Shepard was slightly inebriated, but still capable of remaining on his feet. When they got back to their hotel room Shepard lay down on the bed, Tali got out of her dress and into something more comfortable, an old t-shirt and pair of pants. She lay down next to Shepard and undid his tie and took off his jacket. He was already asleep, she was far too tired to do anything else, she turned off the lights and fell asleep within seconds.

The next day when she woke up she looked next to her, Shepard wasn't there, she heard a faucet running and she figured he must be in the bathroom. She threw on her usual Hoodie and Jeans, struggling to get her bowed legs into the Jeans. Shepard opened the bathroom door and walked across to Tali, he was wearing Jeans and a Hoodie as well.

"Good morning" She said

"Morning" He replied, he was slightly hung over.

"When does the transport to Rannoch leave?" She asked quietly.

"3 o'clock" Shepard replied as he downed a headache pill.

"We have some more time on the town then" Tali replied as she pulled up a map of New York on her Omni-tool.

"I've marked a few locations we could check out" Tali said to Shepard

"Ok, the pill is taking effect, let's go" He replied.

They walked through a few malls; Shepard was approached by several admirers, a few of which expressed their love for him, Tali's response was to kiss Shepard full on the lips. They broke the hearts of many women and a few men. They were walking past a pet store, when Shepard heard a strange 'squeeeee' he looked around and noticed that Tali was no longer beside him, she was staring into the pet store with her hands over her mouth, he walked over to her and looked inside, she was staring at a little white bundle of fur sitting in the middle of a small bed.

"What is that?" Tali whispered

"That's a cat Tali" Shepard said with a smile on his face

"It's adorable" squeaked Tali

"want to buy her?"

"Yes… please, I mean we could keep her right? I don't want it to be too much trouble looking after her"

"We'll be fine, don't worry, we can look after her fine"

As Tali and Shepard walked back to the hotel Tali kept looking at the cat.

"What are you going to call her?" Shepard asked

"Kikki" Tali said, still looking at the cat.

'Hmm, nice name" said Shepard

"You think so?"

"It suits her" Shepard glanced at the time on his Omni-tool "We have to get back soon"

Back on Rannoch, Tali let Kikki out of her cage, Kikki looked around and jumped on the couch, she lay down and fell asleep.

"Awww, adorable" Tali said as she sat down next to Kikki

"That's about as much as you can expect from a cat" Shepard said as he stroked Kikki

Tali reached out and did the same.

"She's so soft" Tali said as she scratched Kikki around her ears.

"Why is she growling at me?" Tali said as she pulled back

Shepard laughed "She's purring, it means she's happy" Shepard picked up Kikki, still asleep, and put her in Tali's lap.

"Good luck trying to stand up" He said as he turned on the TV. Tali thought for a moment, she looked at Shepard "bosh'tet".


	2. Chapter 2

A month later.  
Shepard opened his eyes, he sat up and looked at the end of the bed, and Kikki was sitting there, looking at him, Kikki meowed at him, signalling to Shepard for him to get breakfast, Shepard stood up and walked downstairs, he got Kikki her breakfast. He went upstairs again and attempted to wake her up. She was having a week in which all she did was sleep. It had been a week so she was due to wake up sometime today. He had some news for her, Shepard's mother had invited them aboard her ship the SSV Everest, and she wanted to congratulate Shepard and Tali personally. Shepard checked his mail and watched TV, after a few hours Tali came downstairs.

"You let me sleep in" Tali said. She was not aware that she was asleep for a week; she wandered over to the computer and checked her mail.

"I have so much mail, Keelah what happened that caused so many people to message me overnight?" she said, Shepard did his best to stifle his laugh. Tali looked at the date.

"Wait… it's been a week, I slept for a week and you didn't tell me?" Tali yelled at Shepard, Shepard lost it and almost fell over laughing, Tali glared at him and he laughed even harder. After Shepard had calmed down he told Tali of the invite to the SSV Everest.

"When do we go?" Tali asked

"Today" Shepard replied  
"Why haven't you started packing?" Tali yelled, Shepard gestured to his lap; Kikki was fast asleep on his lap. Tali sighed and went upstairs to pack; Shepard eventually joined her and started to tell Tali about how he practically grew up on the Everest.

"I know the ship like the back of my hand" Shepard said "Although I doubt I could fit into the  
air-ducts like I used to"

"You really shouldn't have done that, ducts on Alliance vessels are extremely hazardous" Said Tali

"How do you know that?" Shepard asked "Did you crawl through the ducts on the Normandy?"

"No… well I did, but that was for maintenance" Tali said "The Alliance gifted the fleet a decommissioned vessel, a frigate, the SSV Bristol I think. I remember when I was little, I was with my father, as we were walking, and well I was rolling as I was still in my bubble at the time. Anyway as we were walking down a hallway I glanced into a room, I saw a mother crying and who I assumed was her Husband hugging her, there was a medical team next to them, near an opened duct, they had just pulled out a little body, still in its bubble"

"That must have been hard to watch… did you know the kid?" Shepard asked

"No, but the number one rule of parenting on the fleet, is always know what the children are doing"

"I learnt my lesson about crawling into ducts the hard way, almost got spaced twice. My Dad was so angry" Shepard said, smiling sadly "I know what he would've said after I got spaced in the collector attack" Shepard deepened his voice and used a scolding tone "Yep, I knew that would happen someday, in the ducts or not you are always gonna get spaced" Shepard chuckled.  
He noticed Tali had her eyes screwed shut, a tear rolling down her cheek, crap, he had reminded her again.

He didn't do it often but occasionally he would slip up and remind her of losing him… twice. It was well-known throughout the old Normandy crew that if Tali were within earshot the subject of Shepard dying was to never be mentioned, it would send Tali into a fit at worst. Shepard hugged Tali.

"Oh god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" he whispered to her.

She had told him that her welcome after she returned to the fleet just after Shepard's first death wasn't as welcoming as it should have been.  
Shepard sat Tali down on their bed and said "Look, I think you should just tell me what happened after you returned to the fleet, Please" Shepard said to her.  
Tali would usually deflect the question somehow. Tali sighed and started up her Omni-tool, she browsed through news reports from 12 years ago. She eventually rested on one. A picture of a Quarian girl came up, Amina'Looge vas Lopar.

"She was my best-friend up until a few days before you were… killed" Tali wiped her eyes "She had a massive crush on you, I kept telling her that I was on your team aboard the Normandy, she didn't believe me, she thought I was trying to make her jealous, but after she saw a vid of you on Noveria, you were talking to me, Amina lost it, she was so jealous, she threw insult after insult at me, I had to block her Extra-net address. When I got back to the fleet after you… died, I was standing by a window, grieving, Amina came up to me shoving her finger in my face yelling that it was all my fault, that I was there but didn't save you. She shoved me and I fell, at the time I was an emotional wreck, I couldn't defend myself. She kicked my visor, an action that can kill if the kick was hard enough. As my vision cleared I saw her holding a knife"

"It says here that she threatened to cut open your suit and… watch you sneeze to death" Shepard said a horrified look on his face. Tali slowly nodded.

"I would be dead if it wasn't for Reegar" said Tali

"It says here that he punched her so hard it cracked her visor" Shepard said as he continued reading the report off Tali's Omni-tool.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I couldn't hold myself together long enough to tell you" confessed Tali. Shepard held Tali close. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her, losing him twice, both being so traumatic.

"C'mon, we have to finish packing" said Tali

The shuttle ride was very uneventful as always, Shepard kept looking at Tali, only hours before she had been crying in his arms, he wasn't sure if she would be stable enough for a meeting with his mother, he had already flicked a few messages to his mother explaining to not go near his deaths for Tali's sake. Shepard did not want Tali to fall apart on the bridge of an Alliance Dreadnought.

"Shepard look" Tali said as looked out the window.

"What" Shepard said

"We're docking" Tali said, she had perked up much more now, being on a ship always put her in a good mood, Shepard made a mental note to get her clearance for the engineering deck.

Hannah Shepard, an admiral of the Alliance and captain of the SSV Everest. She stood on the bridge over-looking a gas giant; she had been tracking a group of pirates in the area but had come up with nothing. An ensign handed her a data-pad, she authorized the docking of the transport shuttle and proceeded to the docking tube. Shepard and Tali waited at the docking tube entrance.

"Hello, honey" Shepard turned around

"Mom! Good to see you" said Shepard as he hugged Hannah

"Good to see you to" said Hannah "Tali, it's so nice to see you again"

"Good to see you to Hannah" replied Tali as she hugged Hannah

As the three walked towards the bridge Hannah filled in Shepard and Tali on her mission, only as much as she could get away with as the mission was classified.

"Oh and I almost forgot" Hannah said "Congratulations. I'm so proud of you two."

"Thanks Mom"

"Well here we are" Hannah said as they walked into a large room filled with consoles and monitors.

Tali looked around at the Dreadnoughts Bridge, it was huge. The Rayya was larger than a dreadnought but the Bridge was only half the size of the one she was in. As she looked around the Bridge, Shepard and Hannah talked.

"Tell me the truth" Shepard said "What is your mission, all of it"

"I have no idea what you mean" Hannah said, her son wasn't as easy to fool as he used to.

"Mom, as a Council Spectre I order you to tell me your mission" Shepard said, smirking.

"Fine, god dammit, we were sent to capture an assassin, he was hiding aboard a pirate fleet. We got him, he's in the Brigg now, and we received an order from admiral Hackett to destroy the rest of the pirate fleet, they know too much."

"What's this assassin in for?" asked Shepard

"He killed an Asari diplomat, three Salarian Dalatrasses and a Turian Primarch"

"He's the one who killed them?" Shepard said "I thought they were all accidents"

"It's a she and no, they weren't accidents"

"Shepard?" Tali said, the two Shepards looked at her then laughed.

"Haven't reached the first name basis I see" said Hannah

"No it's just that old habits die hard" said Shepard

"You can't kill a habit with a shotgun" said Tali. An officer walked over to them.

"Admiral Shepard, I think you might want to see this"

"What is it? Oh… Fuck" Hannah yelled "Secure the ship, red alert! Everyone to their posts!" she gave Tali and Shepard a pistol.

"Mom, what's happening?" said Shepard

"The assassin, she escaped"

"We can take her, easy" said Shepard

"No, she has a shape shifting device, she could look like anyone on this ship"

"That's a problem" Tali yelled as she booted up a security feed "She's right outside, lock the door!"

Shepard crouched behind a console; Hannah went right beside the door; Tali crouched down by Shepard. Shepard looked over the console, he saw someone walking up behind his mother. The person began to change shape. Before Shepard could react, the hooded Assassin raised a gun, pointed at the back of Hannah's head.

Tali heard a gunshot followed by lot's more, she saw Shepard standing up, she pulled him down.

"What are you doing do you want to be killed?" she hissed.

Then she saw the expression on his face, pure shock, she looked him in the eye "Shepard?" his eyes said more than a thousand words. It scared her. The gunfire stopped, Tali stood up and looked for Hannah. She found her lying next to the door, her expression as blank as Shepard's. A hole in her head.

"Oh Keelah" Tali said, burying her face in her hands. She ran back over to Shepard. He was still sitting there, a tear on his cheek.

"I couldn't do anything" he whispered.

He was clearly in shock; Tali had never seen Shepard like this before, it was terrifying. She managed to lift him up; he walked off to their private quarters. Tali talked to the medics and got them to check on Shepard.  
A severe case of shock, that was obvious, but how to treat it. They left the ship when they docked at the Citadel. They went to their apartment; Shepard went upstairs to the bathroom and Tali prepared some food, but when Shepard came down he didn't eat, he just sat on the couch and started watching TV. He wouldn't sleep but eventually got so tired he passed out on the couch. Tali went up to bed; she would call Garrus in the morning. He lived on the Citadel now, Jilana had been promoted and that required them to move from Palaven to the Citadel.

When Tali woke up she went downstairs to check on Shepard, when she reached the bottom step she slipped on something, she sat up rubbing the back of her head. She had slipped on a bottle, she wondered where it came from, and then she remembered the Bar. She quickly stood up and raced to where the bar was, she was an idiot, leaving Shepard near all that alcohol. Shepard was slumped over the counter, a bottle of brandy in his hand and countless more on the ground.

"Hey Tali, want one?" he slurred; swinging his arm around, he reached behind the counter but failed to find any more. He groaned.

"Stay here" Tali said as she ran upstairs, she called Garrus as she threw on some clothes.

"Oh... Tali, I heard about Hannah, is Shepard ok?" Garrus asked when he answered

"No, he's heavily depressed and he drank all the brandy in the bar" Tali said "I don't know what to do"

"Don't worry I'll be there in a few minutes"

"Are you sure, it's 4 in the morning"

"If Shepard is that drunk than you'll need help restraining him if he gets violent" Garrus said "Just keep him there and I'll be there soon"

"Ok I'll… he's gone…"

"What do you mean he's gone?"

"He's not here… I…."

"Ok calm down I'm on my way" Garrus hung up, Tali looked frantically around the rest of the apartment but found no trace of Shepard. She began to Panic.

"Ryncol please" Shepard asked the Bartender.

"Sorry pal, none left"

"Then gimme a Turian Brandy"

"But sir, that can kill you" warned the Bartender, but Shepard just snatched a bottle out of his hand and took a giant swig.

"Not dead…" he said. The Bartender was amazed; he'd never thought he'd see it. He walked away in disbelief.

"You a little sad, Shepard?" Shepard turned around to see who called his name, he sneered. Natasha Alberts, his girlfriend before joining the Alliance.

"What do you want Natasha" he said  
"Nothing just wondering how that Military Career has worked out for ya" she said as she sat down next to Shepard.

"Great, saved the Galaxy and all that" he said

"Oh yea I saw vids of that, good for you" she said sarcastically.

"What do you really want" Shepard said

"The same I as last time, why the fuck you broke up with me"

"If I joined the military then the relationship wouldn't have worked, I've told you a million times!" he replied

"and the same answer yet again" she said "I heard about your Mom, that why you here?" Shepard nodded.

"Hmm, she had it coming you know. Raising such an ass like you"

Shepards temper was rising. He pushed her and in her trying to regain her balance, her long fingernails tore through Shepards forearm.

"Oops, clumsy me" she said I that irritating sarcastic voice of hers.

Shepard made a fist; he resisted the urge to punch her full in the face. His arm began bleeding.

His Omni-tool lit up, Tali was calling him, he tried to hide the Picture of her that came up, but he was too late.

"Tali'Zorah? You're knocking up a Quarian, Fucking suit rats, wow you must be despr…" she was cut short by Shepard throwing a bottle in her face, he pinned her to the wall and deployed his Omni-blade, he held it close to her throat. The searing hot blade began to burn her skin.

"What did you fucking call her!?" he yelled, everyone in the bar turned and looked at him.

"I have had enough of you fucking coming into my life and trying to make it worse than it already is! I watched as my Mother was shot point blank in the back of the head only yesterday! I am not going to be in a good enough mood to tolerate your Bullshit! But then you go and insult the love of my life! Yea, and get this she is pregnant with my child, MY child! You and I were never going to work out whether or not we stayed together!" he yelled at her.

"How can she be pregnant with YOUR child, she's Quarian"

Shepard rolled his eyes "How the fuck do you think I've been drinking Turian Brandy?"

Natasha thought for a bit, "you went through that experiment to make your DNA compatible with hers, so you could make a FREAK!?"

Shepard punched her in the face, her nose started bleeding. "You throw one more insult at my FAMILY" Shepard brought her face close to his, "And I will end your pitiful little life"  
Natasha spat in his face, Shepard brought back his fist,

"SHEPARD!" Garrus yelled, Shepard turned in time to see his friend's fist connect with his face.

Shepard fell back, everything was blurry, he saw someone stand up and run away. He tried getting up but got a foot to the back of the head, everything was beginning to go dark he looked around. He was lying in broken glass; he had cuts all over him. He shook his head trying to stay awake. He couldn't let her get away.

"Shepard?" Tali's voice was distant.

"Tali…?" he said weakly

"Dammit" he heard Garrus say

"No wait…!" Tali yelled as a chair hit the side of Shepards head.

Shepard woke up, he looked around, he was lying on the floor of an empty bar, and someone was wrapping bandages around his arms.  
"Tali?" No reply, he shook his head.

"He's awake"

"Garrus put down the bottle"

The voices were getting closer. His vision focused. A paramedic was bandaging his arms, removing any glass that was still in the cuts. Tali came running over to him.

"Shepard are you feeling ok?" she asked, Shepard leaned forward.

"I have to stop waking up in bandages"

Tali smiled and hugged him.

"What happened" he asked

"You went on a drunken rampage and half murdered someone who was apparently pissing you off" Garrus said "I stopped you with a fist, then my foot… then a chair"

"Thanks" Shepard said "She insulted my Mother, my work, Tali, and our Child"

"Your good to go" said the paramedic

"Thanks" said Shepard as he stood up

Tali and Shepard caught the soonest flight to Rannoch. Tali made Shepard go to the doctor who gave him some anti-depressants. Tali packed away their clothes and fed Kikki. They went up to bed, and tried to get some sleep,

"Thank you" said Shepard

"for what?" replied Tali

"Getting Garrus to stop me, I probably would've killed her"

"I told him not to use a chair but he did, he almost used a bottle when you woke up"

"I really need to stop waking up injured and finding you by my side" Shepard said

Tali could tell he wasn't smiling but it was the closest thing to humour Shepard had come to since his mother's death, only two days before. Shepard sighed.

"I can't believe I'm the last Shepard"

"No… not the last" Tali said as she placed Shepards hand on her stomach. Shepard turned to her; through the darkness she could see his smile. She brought her face close to his, for a long passionate kiss.

Tali was the first to wake up, she got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. As she ate she heard the shower being turned on, Shepard was awake, and at least he was more cheerful. Tali remembered how she felt when she found her father on the Alarai. She couldn't imagine what it must have been to actually be there when a parent was murdered. Shepard came downstairs and walked to the fridge, Tali's eyes focused on the bottle of wine, hoping he would not see, his hand hovered over the bottle but clenched and picked up a bottle of milk instead. Tali sighed in relief and smiled, he was able to contain himself, good. He poured himself a glass of milk and sat down beside her. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you feeling ok?" Tali asked. Shepard gave a slight smile and nodded. Tali dreaded Hannah's funeral an a few days. She wasn't sure if Shepard would be able to make it through. She always thought of Shepard being fearless and strong. But this, seeing him hit rock bottom, it frightened her. Instead of being the tall, strong man he usually was, he was now a hurt, sick boy. She moved closer to Shepard and put her arms around him.

"We'll get through this, we always do" she assured him. He kissed her forehead in reply.

Hannah's funeral was fitting, held in Washington; several Alliance admirals had come, Tali felt sick when Shepard stood up to say a few words, but he held himself together, using the strong commanding tone he used during the days aboard the Normandy, he never faltered once. After he had finished his speech and sat back down, Tali put her hand on his and gave a gentle squeeze, he gave her a smile. After the speeches they lowered the coffin. Some people left but most stayed, several people gave Shepard their condolences. Shepard left Tali to talk to some Quarian soldiers who Hannah had saved years before, Shepard found Garrus amidst the crowd.

"Garrus" said Shepard as he approached his friend.

"Shepard, good to see you're feeling better than… well… the last time we met" Garrus said, he was never good at making anyone feel better. Shepard and Garrus talked for a few minutes, Shepard glanced back at Tali.

"Garrus" he said

"Yes Shepard?" replied Garrus

"Before Tali and I left for… the Everest. She told me, what she went through after the collectors killed me"  
Garrus knew what Shepard was about to ask.

"What was she like, after I left her with on the Normandy when she was injured?"

Garrus tried to walk away and avoid answering the question. Shepard grabbed his arm.

"Please… I need to know" he said, looking him in the eye. Garrus sighed and started up his Omni-tool.

"My visor can… record what I'm seeing" Garrus said as he pulled up a file dated the same day as the Crucible event. Shepard watched as Garrus skipped to the part just after the cargo hold doors had closed, Tali was leaning on Garrus.

"C'mon we have to get you to Chakwas" Garrus said. He turned around slowly and tried to move forward, Tali tripped and the front of her visor was in view, it had large streaks of tears running down the inside, Garrus helped her up and proceeded to the elevator. As soon as they got to deck three, Tali pushed Garrus away from her and ran over to the Port Observation deck, Garrus attempted to follow her but fell, he had minor fractures in his leg. He managed to push himself up and follow Tali; she had collapsed next to the window, bloody hand prints near where she sat.

Garrus walked over and looked down, Shepard was visible running towards the beam. He was hit by Harbingers beam; Tali pounded her fist against the glass screaming his name, the camera shook a little and spun around, Garrus had taken off his visor, his face was visible from the angle the camera was on. His hand was wiping away tears, the only time Shepard had ever seen his friend cry. Garrus put the visor back on and helped Tali up, she didn't resist. He took her through to the med bay and sat her on a bed. Chakwas immediately started treating her.

"What's wrong Tali?" she asked, Tali just sat there looking down.

"Shepard… he… took a hit" Garrus answered for her. Tali was clearly crying by now. Chakwas looked at her in shock.

"I'm so sorry" she said as she hugged Tali.

After Garrus was patched up he went up to the bridge and told Joker. After receiving a transmission from Hackett stating that the Citadel arms were opening, Tali soon rushed up to the bridge saying that it had to be Shepard, she then proceeded to run around the ship attempting to keep the Citadel within view. When the crucible docked and started arming itself Tali began to panic. She started insisting that they could get him out of there, Joker began flying close to the Crucible, and Javik insisted that they must leave. When Joker finally gave in, Tali launched herself at the control panel; she landed on Joker's arm, a terrible crack followed by a lot of yelling, Garrus with the help of James, finally managed to pull Tali off of him. She began sobbing, as Garrus held her back.

Garrus stopped the recording. Shepard looked on the verge of tears, he nodded and said "Thank you, I needed to know".  
Garrus was about to walk away when he remembered something.

"Wait, I have something else that I think you should see" he said pulling some footage of a few days after the crucible event.

"The Normandy crashed on an uncharted planet and we were repairing her, that's why it took us so long to return back to the fleet. Tali hadn't come down from your room in days so I went up to check on her… and well, you'll see" Garrus said as he began playing the footage.

The elevator doors opened, Shepard's cabin was dark, and Garrus' visor switched to night view, it showed Tali with a gun to her head. Garrus jumped forward and grabbed Tali's arm, she started screaming and crying, a few shots went off, Garrus managed to wrestle the gun from her grip. She fell to the floor and started crying. Garrus knelt down beside her and picked her up, he put her on the bed and sat next to her, she started crying into the pillow. Garrus grunted and put a hand to his side, when he took it away his hand was soaked in his blood. He alerted Chakwas and told her to come up.

"I miss him so much" Tali sobbed into the pillow

"So do I" Garrus replied as he placed a hand on her back. "So do I"

The recording ended, Shepard looked up at Garrus "Thank you for stopping her" he said.  
Garrus nodded and shook Shepards hand.

"See you later Shepard" he said as he turned and walked off.

Tali and Shepard returned home, it was late so they had some food, fed Kikki and went off to bed. Shepard woke up several times during the night, he kept having nightmares of Garrus being too late and finding Tali dead on the floor of his cabin. He looked to his right, Tali was sleeping peacefully. He sighed and lay back. Tali mumbled, Shepard began to listen closely, nothing. Whenever Tali talked or mumbled in her sleep she was usually having a nightmare. He looked at his clock, 7:30 am, he sighed and got out of bed, he went downstairs for breakfast. After a few hours had passed he went to check on Tali, she was awake but trying to sleep. Shepard smiled.

"C'mon Tali time to wake up" he said

"Five more minutes" she mumbled

"I've been waiting hours"

"Fine"

Tali got out of bed and dressed. She followed Shepard downstairs, his mood changed dramatically.

"Garrus told me what happened with you after the Crucible event" Shepard said. Tali swallowed and looked at her feet.

"He didn't use the footage on his Omni-tool did he" She mumbled. Shepard nodded.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out and started crying. Shepard moved closer to her and hugged her, resting his head on hers.

"You have nothing to be sorry about" he whispered in her ear. "I don't blame you for what you did"

Tali sniffed "Really?"  
Shepard nodded and raised her chin so he could look her in the eye.

"Of course" he whispered to her "I don't care what you did, I should've done something, sent you a message or even forced myself out of that hospital bed and went and found you myself"

"The why didn't you!? I know our comm systems were out the entire time we were gone, but why didn't you come find me?" Tali said as she wiped away tears.

"I was barely conscious for most of it, they kept me heavily sedated" Shepard kissed her forehead "Enough tears for now. There have been too much already"

Tali nodded did her best to smile. She knew he was right, over the past week there had been enough sadness and depression. After all, they had a bright future to look forward to.


	3. Chapter 3

Three months later.  
Shepard wandered the house looking for something to do, Tali was having another sleeping week so he practically had the house to himself. He walked past the room where he kept his fitness equipment, punching bag, weights etc. He hadn't worked out in a while so he pulled the punching bag into the middle of the room, removed his hoodie and began throwing punches.

"Hey Shep" said a voice coming from somewhere in the room.

Shepard turned his head to look for whomever the voice belonged to, in his attention shifting he accidently punched the bags metal support bar. He flinched and examined his hand, nothing broken, but it was definitely going to bruise.

"Hello Kasumi" he said. Kasumi de-cloaked and almost fell over laughing.

"Sorry Shep, didn't realise you'd gotten so clumsy. Well at least it didn't explode" Kasumi said and began laughing even harder. Shepard placed a finger to his lips.

"Shush Tali's sleeping" he said.

"It's two in the afternoon I think it's time she woke up"

"No, it's a side effect of the pregnancy" Shepard said, Kasumi looked shocked.

"The… the thing worked?" She said

"Yes, I thought Tali told you"

"No… I had to change Extra-net address. She's pregnant?"

"Yes"

"With your child?"

"Also yes"

"Oh, ok then, can I see her?" Kasumi asked

"Yes but you have to be very quiet, I woke her up two days ago, she can yell very loud" Shepard said as he gestured to Kasumi to follow him.

They went upstairs and stood in the bedroom doorway, Tali lay on her side, a smile in her lips.

"Awww" Whispered Kasumi "Her stomach isn't as flat as I remember"

By this stage Tali was easily identified as pregnant, her usual flat, slightly muscular stomach was now distended, Tali had said that she was beginning to lose sight of her feet because of it.

"C'mon lets go back downstairs" Shepard said as he quietly walked back. Once back in the lounge they sat down on the couch.

"How much longer till Sheppy Junior comes along?" Kasumi asked

"Hard to say, the doctors said the pregnancy would last between nine and thirteen months" Shepard said. "It's been about five months, so between four and eight months left". Kasumi nodded.

"Has she had any strange cravings? Cookie sandwiches?" Kasumi asked

"Surprisingly no, apparently Quarians don't go through that thing, instead they have days where they just eat but she hasn't had that either"

"I suppose it saves credits. Not having to keep buying food. Not that you have any problem with credits. You earn a lot from the vids don't you"

"I also do a few odd jobs planetside as a Spectre" Shepard said

"Your hand is purple"

"What?"

"Your hand"said Kasumi. Shepard glanced down at his fist, it had gone purple.

"I'm gonna get an ice pack" he said. Kasumi laughed and apologized again.

"I should really go soon" Kasumi said as she looked out the window

"What did you do now?" Shepard asked as he walked back over.

"You know that ancient Asari text book that held the secrets to the mind meld"

"You didn't"

"I did" said Kasumi as she activated her cloak. Shepard heard the front door open and close. He shook his head and walked back through to the punching bag. He glanced at his bruised fist and decided that lifting weights would be a better idea.

Tali got out of bed, showered and dressed. She walked downstairs and made herself breakfast, she was starving. After she finished she went looking for Shepard, he was lifting weights.

"Morning" He said as he stood up.

"Morning" said Tali as she walked over to hug him. She felt crushed when he returned the hug, she placed a hand on his arm and gave a slight squeeze, she bit her lip.

"You were out for a week again and a I had nothing to do" Shepard said

"Well maybe I should sleep longer more often" she purred. Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to your hand?" said Tali as she held up his fist, it was still slightly purple.

"Oh Kasumi visited while you were out, she did her thing and snuck up on me while I was throwing punches at the punching bag, I hit the bar" Shepard said. Tali giggled.

"What did Kasumi want?" Tali asked

"Just checking up on us, she didn't receive your message about the baby"

"You told her?"

"Of course"

"How did she take it?"

"A little shocked but happy"

"Good" said Tali as she walked off, "Now take a shower, you smell" Shepard lifted his arm and sniffed.

Six months later.  
Tali was finding it more difficult to move, she had been to her Doctor who had said that the baby was due soon. Shepard was on the other side of Rannoch, taking care of Spectre business. She wanted him to be with her. He had said that he would only be a few days. She sat down on the couch and began playing on the new gaming console they had bought. She began playing Galaxy of War, a command-the-fleet style game; she chose the Quarian fleet and pitted it against the Turian. Despite her best efforts she could not keep her defensive line in place. She eventually gave up and sent several frigates on a suicide run to take out the Turian dreadnoughts. A move she would never make in real life. Thanks to that move she managed to get her dreadnoughts and the remaining frigates to annihilate the rest of Turian fleet. She turned off the console and went to bed. Half way up the stairs she doubled over, her lower abdomen hurt. She started to breath heavily; the baby was on its way. She contacted Shepard.

"Tali, what's wrong?" Shepard asked as he saw her face through her Omni-tools camera.

"Shepard… it's coming"

"Oh… OH! Call the hospital I'll be there as soon as I can" Shepard said.

"Wait… you can't leave… we're in the middle of an investigation!" said the Salarian Spectre who had insisted Shepard help.

"Tali is about to have our baby. I am going to be there" Shepard said as he quickly gathered his things. "Fine, I understand that you want to be with your wife" said the Salarian.

"Not my wife, not yet" Shepard said as he picked up his suitcases and ran out the door.

He hailed a cab and went to the transport station. He purchased a ticket and boarded the transport, he was seated next to a Geth.

"May I inquire why you are so nervous Shepard Commander?" said the Geth

"My girlfriends about to have our baby" Shepard said as he bit his lip.

"Processing… correct, Creator Zorah is located on the top floor of the Al'Sauri hospital" said the Geth

"Thanks… wait, how did you know?"

"All Geth are networked… a Geth is assisting Creator Zorah"

"Assisting… as in right now?"

"No, Creator Zorah will birth in an estimated 32 minutes 28 seconds" The transport left the station and began its journey.

"How long will the transport take to get us there?" Shepard asked

"Processing… 29 minutes 57 seconds"

"3 minutes to run to the hospital… great" Shepard put his face in his hands.

"I am sure you will be there in time Shepard Commander"

"I hope I am"

The transport pulled into the station, Shepard grabbed his bags and thanked the Geth. "Commander, you have 2 minutes 36 seconds left!" the Geth called out; luckily the hospital wasn't far from the station. Shepard passed a friend and gave him his suitcases, quickly explaining why with 'baby's coming'. He ran into the hospital and began mashing the elevator button. It was taking too long so he took the stairs, Tali was on the top floor, 60 flights of stairs. Shepard began climbing, it was good that he was fit, he finally reached the top, panting he asked a nurse where Tali was, room 7, he quickly scanned the signs above the doors. Room 7, he sprinted forward almost knocking over several people, he stood in the doorway. Tali was lying on the bed, she looked at him, he went over and sat next to her.

"You missed the fun" she said. Shepard frowned.

"I came as quickly as I…" he was cut off. He looked to his right, a pink and white Geth walked over holding a bundle of towels, he gave it to Tali, in that bundle was a little, grey-purple baby boy.  
Shepard smiled and looked at Tali, she was smiling at the baby.

"What are we going to call him?" Tali asked still keeping her eyes on her son.

"I was thinking… maybe…" Shepard said, he was still breathing heavily from the run "Rael"

Tali looked at Shepard and kissed him "Perfect" she whispered.

A Salarian walked over, he was scarred and had his left horn missing.

"Commander Shepard, Miss Zorah, congratulations. The baby is in good health, no problems. Suggest not having another child, results might not be the same" said the Salarian, he began to walk towards the door, he planted a hand on Shepards shoulder.

"Good to see you again Shepard" he said as walked out humming a song. Shepard was confused, had they met before? Then Shepard recognised the song, Gilbert and Sullivan. Scientist Salarian.

"Mordin!" he yelled. He looked out into the hallway, no one. He went back into the room. Rael had opened his eyes, he was looking at Tali.  
Shepard walked over and sat next to Tali. "Hey little guy" he said. Rael stuck out his arm, five fingers, Shepard placed his finger into Raels palm. Rael looked up at Shepard. He had Shepards piercing blue eyes, and Tali's facial pattern. Rael closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Do you want to hold him?" Tali said. Shepard nodded. Tali gave Rael to Shepard. Shepard looked down at Rael and then looked at Tali.

The Geth, who was near the other side of the room, came over and said "You may leave whenever you wish"

"Who was the Salarian doctor in here a minute ago?" Shepard asked

"He gave a false name, however I was able to identify him as one Professor Mordin Solus, he lead the team who engineered the Cellular bonding Procedure, you and Creator Zorah underwent in order to make Creator Rael possible" said the Geth

"Son of a Bitch" said Shepard, Tali looked confused.

"But he died whilst curing the Genophage; even if he survived the explosion he would be far too old for a Salarian to live" said Tali

"He was heavily scarred and looked very old" Shepard said. Tali shook off the idea and returned her attention to Rael; he was still asleep in Shepards arms.

"Let's go home" Tali said

"What, now?" Shepard said

"Yes"

"But, you gave birth only a few minutes ago. Are you sure?"

"Like I said, Quarian births aren't like Human births, we don't get as exhausted"

"Oh… ok then"

Tali got out of bed and took off her hospital robe, she threw on her usual clothes and she, Shepard and Rael got on the elevator. Shepard told Tali he dumped his stuff with a friend.

"Want to go get it?"

"Yes, but you're coming too"

"You are holding Rael, I'm not trusting you two alone together"

"Heh, your turn" Shepard said as he passed Rael back to Tali "I don't want to hold him too long, you know what people say, everything I touch explodes"

Tali and Shepard did their best not to laugh. Shepard picked up his stuff and they walked back home, the cool night air blowing gently through their hair.  
When they got home, Tali and Shepard took Rael upstairs, they had already prepared a room for him, they lay him in his crib and each kissed him goodnight. They went downstairs and had a cup of Coffee, Tali had not had one since she found out she was pregnant. Shepard glanced at the brand new console.

"Want a game?" he asked.

Tali laughed "Sure".


	4. Chapter 4

Shepard woke up, he was woken by Rael who was crying in the other room. "I got it" he said as he got out of bed. Tali mumbled something, Shepard walked through and picked up Rael, he carried him downstairs and sat on the couch, it had been a month since Rael was born and he had already deprived Shepard and Tali about a year of sleep. Shepard comforted him until he fell asleep again. Shepard glanced at the data-pad on the coffee table which had plans for their wedding. It was to be held in a Kaali orchard near the town they lived in. Raan was busy organising most of the wedding, but Tali and Shepard still had a say in who was invited, who the best man/bridesmaid was, where it was held and where the reception was going to be. He carried Rael back up to his bed, and went through to his own. Garrus was right, the beginning is hell.

Over the next few months Tali and Shepard found that most of their time was devoted to taking care of Rael, Jilana and admiral Raan visited to help Shepard and Tali deal with Rael and also set things up for the wedding. It was to be held in three days, Tali and Shepard tried to catch up on as much sleep as possible. Some wedding guests had decided to arrive early and visited. Mostly because they wanted to see the baby but a few wanted to help out as much as they could. Shepard and Tali were thankful that so many friends came early just to help.

The wedding day.  
Shepard sat in the living room, Kikki was sitting next to him. Tali and Shepard had decided to up hold the human tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other before the wedding. Tali was at Raans and so was Rael. Garrus walked over to Shepard.

"You ok?" he asked

"Nervous, but yeah I'll be fine" replied Shepard

"Now you haven't forgotten how to speak Kheelish have you?"

"You think I would forget my fiancé's native language?"

"Just making sure, when I married Jilana I forgot how to speak Turian" Garrus said patting Shepard on his shoulder.

"You looked like such an ass" Shepard said, chuckling

"You were the Turian equivalent of a Best man; you turned out to be unsupportive ass" Garrus said in his own defence.

"And now you get to return the favour"

"C'mon, we better get going" Garrus said, he opened the door for his friend and piloted the sky-car to the Kaali orchard.

Shepard stood up front of the crowd near the priest. The Human priest would perform the human side, and admiral Raan would read out the Quarian bonding scripts. Shepard waited anxiously, he was sure that Tali wouldn't give up on him, but the thought was gnawing away at him. After a minute of tense silence, music began playing and Shepard glanced towards the rear of the Orchard. Tali wore a beautiful long white dress with purple, black and gold streaks. In the absence of a father, Kal'Reegar had been chosen to deliver Tali to Shepard; he no longer wore a suit, and was beginning to grow a beard. Garrus leant over and whispered "I didn't know Quarians could grow beards". Shepard shot him a look. The human priest began the ceremony; Shepard took the ring from Garrus and planted it on Tali's finger. There was much debate earlier on which finger to put it on. Considering Quarians have two. The human priest concluded the human part and Raan stood up and began reading in Kheelish. Shepard and Tali repeated what was necessary in Kheelish, Shepard reached up and picked a Kaali fruit, and he let Tali take a bite and then took a bite of his own. They concluded with grasping each other's hands and repeating a poem that all Quarians were wed with. After the ceremony concluded, the wedding party moved to another location of the Orchard and began celebrating. Near the end of the celebrations everyone sat in a large circle, recounting tales of when they first met Shepard and Tali.

"Garrus, when we first ran into you, you were desperately trying to prove that Saren was guilty. Almost as if you knew the fate of the galaxy depended on it" Shepard said

"I had enough screw ups in C-sec, I knew he was responsible for countless other crimes, but I never had enough evidence to convict" Garrus said. Grunts son, Pike, walked over to his dad.

"I'm hungry" he said. Grunt pointed towards the food table.

"Remind us again why you called him Pike" said Liara.

"Because he invented a new war technique, charging things with pointy sticks" Grunt said.

"Speaking of children, how's Rael doing" Miranda asked Shepard.

"He's doing fine" Shepard said as he looked down at Rael playing in the grass.

"I see has Tali's legs and your arms" Ashley said.

"And Tali's facial pattern and skin tone" said EDI

"Yeah what's up with the facial lines, I mean every unmasked Quarian I see has them" said Joker

"No one really knows what they are for" said Veetor "They all go around the head, half way down the back and branch off ending in small circles"

"It's true" Tali said, she turned her head so everyone could see the two lines running down her neck.

Every Quarians facial lines were different, it might not seem like some two are different but they are all in some way unique, Raels and Tali's facial lines might look the same, but they were still different, Raels might have been deeper than Tali's, or maybe they were angled slightly different. Veetor had one facial line that ran down his forehead and stopped between his eyes. Reegar had two that led from the bottom of his eyes and under his chin. Raan had one around her forehead. Tali and Raels both appeared to start from the hairline and point between the eyebrows. Like most Quarians, their hair hid the rest.

"What happens if you put your finger in one of the circles?" Jacob asked. Shepard poked Tali in the back.

"Makes them annoyed apparently" he said.

Everyone talked into the late evening, the party finished with Javik making a joke about mating between species not being completely pointless. As Tali and Shepard walked to their Sky-car, EDI caught up with them.

"Shepard, may I have a word? In private?" she asked. Shepard nodded and handed Rael to Tali.

"What is it EDI" he said after Tali was out of earshot.

"The ring you gave Tali, it is the same ring that I gifted to you on the Citadel. You remember, I was purchasing the crew gifts" EDI said to Shepard.

"It was, I had been saving it for this day" Shepard said "Thank you EDI" he ran off and caught up with Tali.

"What did EDI want?" Tali asked

"She was wondering where I got the ring" Shepard lied.

"Where did you get it?"

"A jeweller on the Citadel"

"You ordered it in?" she said, examining the ring on her finger.

"Yes"

"You're sweet"

Shepard didn't want her to know where he had gotten in it from, she didn't need to know. He was afraid of her reaction, him using an old ring. He didn't see why he was worried so much; he just had an odd feeling. Shepard unlocked the Sky-car and got in; Tali secured Rael in his seat and got in beside Shepard.

"Let's go home" said Tali

"As you wish, Miss Shepard vas Rannoch" Shepard said as started up the engine. 

One year later.  
Shepard decided to go for a walk; his morning had been spent playing with Rael. Shepard opened the door and almost stepped on a data-pad. He picked it up and read what was on the display. It contained a file that was meant for Tali and Shepard. There was a Holo-message encrypted in the file. Shepard went back inside, ditching his idea of a walk. He gave it to Tali who put her decryption skills to work. An hour later she had fully decrypted the file.

"Who would go to such lengths in order for this to remain secret?" Tali asked

"I don't know, c'mon, we can play the message on the TV" replied Shepard.

Shepard transferred the file to the TV and took a seat on the couch; Tali picked up Rael and sat down next to him. Shepard began playing the message. 

The old and scarred Salarian from the hospital walked into view.

"Shepard, Tali when you receive I will have passed on. I haven't been entirely honest, the past eleven years. I don't know if you recognise me, I'm Mordin Solus. Shepard I'm sorry for lying to you about my death, I lived but only just as you can see from the multitude of scars. A Krogan scouting party found me amongst the wreckage of the Shroud. They took me to a crude medical clinic, they didn't have many experienced doctors and their supplies were low. I'm sure they also didn't trust me enough, I am a Salarian and as I said many times, Krogan don't trust Salarians. I tried to message you saying I was ok but they wouldn't let me contact anyone. I was bed ridden for months, my injuries were worse than I originally feared. By the time I was healthy again the war was won. I tried to contact you but got involved in the Hybrid species program, I was put in the Quarian-Human department, knowing your relationship with Miss Zorah, Shepard I knew you would have a go at it. I decided to keep my survival a secret, until your child was born. Early tests in the program showed that hybrid children would be infertile. Your son was born infertile. That's the reason I visited you in person at the hospital. Just after your son was born I injected him with a virus that would cause his… umm… organs to function properly. In shorthand, not only have I made it possible for you two to have children, I have made possible for your son as well." Mordin looked down "Shepard… I am sorry for not telling you at the hospital, I was unsure of your reaction to me helping Tali birth your child. I should have been stronger; I shouldn't have been such a coward. I'm sorry"

The video ended. Tali and Shepard looked at eachother, then at Rael. He was possible because of Mordin, he was Mordin's last apology. He did all that he did in the past decade, for Shepard and Tali. Shepard had never known such a kinder friend. Tali and Shepard looked down at Rael who gave a strange yet happy gurgle. Tali laughed._ Thank you Mordin _Thought Shepard. He nodded his head and went for his walk. 

Seventeen years later.  
Rael sat at the end of his bed, he glanced around his room. He pulled on his shoes and put on his Hoodie. He grabbed his bag and went downstairs; his father and mother were on the couch. His father stood up.

"How you doing Rael?" he asked

"Fine Dad" said Rael

"Nervous?"

"A little"

Raels mother stood up.

"I'm so proud of you" she said as she gave him a hug "It's ok to be nervous, it's your pilgrimage"

Rael nodded.

"We'll drive you to the station" said his father

"and walk you to the ship" his mother said

"Tali"

"Sorry. It's just that it seems that not long ago he was crawling around in diapers"

"Mom" said Rael

"Sorry"

They flew to the station, Rael constantly looked out the window of the Sky-car, he ran his hand through his Jet black hair, about the only thing he inherited from both his mother and father according to his Uncle Garrus.  
They arrived at the station and walked around a little bit.

"Where do you want to start off?" his mother asked.

"The Citadel" Rael decided.

"Good idea, you can use our apartment" said his father "Oh and remember, if you need anything or you get into trouble you can always go to Uncle Garrus'"

"I know"

Rael purchased his ticket and they walked to the departure station.

"Oh I almost forgot" His father said, reaching into his pocket "I was gonna give you this" he handed over a metallic bracelet.

"Your Omni-blade, but Dad I can't…" Rael said

"Don't worry about, just don't kill or injure someone by accident and you'll be fine"

"Thanks" Rael said as he placed the bracelet around his wrist and deployed the blade "Awesome" he retracted the blade and gave his Mom and Dad a hug.

"We'll miss you" said his mother "Right Shepard"

"He knows"

Rael laughed and gave one last hug.

"See you guys soon" he said

Rael turned around as he heard an announcement. "Would Rael'Shepard nar Rannoch please report to gate three". Rael turned and walked toward the gate, he quickly turned around and waved at his parents.

"I give him a week until he blows something up"

"Shepard!" said Tali, elbowing him in the ribs.

Rael looked out the window, he had never travelled anywhere by himself before. The Mass Relay jump was quicker than he remembered. He watched as the Citadel loomed out from behind the Widow Nebula, he glanced around the ship, he saw several other young Quarians on their Pilgrimages as well. The admiralty board had a hard time trying to decide whether or not Rael would qualify to go on his Pilgrimage, being half human the admirals were unsure on if the rules applied to him. Eventually the decision was made. Rael would go on Pilgrimage.  
The whole ship jolted to the side as it docked. Rael grabbed his bag and left.  
Where he went next was his decision alone.

* * *

**That's it for this one, message me if you would like a sequel! Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read this!**


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